Challenges Faced By Senior Secondary School Learners When Preparing Science Fair Projects In The Omusati Educational Region, Namibia

ABSTRACT

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the challenges faced by senior secondary school learners when preparing science fair projects in the Omusati educational region, Namibia. The study provided answers to the following research questions:1). What are the challenges faced by secondary school learners in the Omusati Educational Region when preparing science fair projects? 2). what are the science teachers’ perceptions of the challenges faced by learners when preparing science fair projects? 3). What are the main causes of the challenges faced by the learners when preparing science fair projects? And 4) how can the process of preparing science fair projects be improved in order to assist learners to overcome their challenges?

Qualitative research approach using descriptive design was used to gather information about the experiences of the participants based on the research questions. Three research instruments were used in the collection of data: These instruments were Open-ended questionnaires, interviews and observation schedules. A total of 45 learners and 16 science teachers selected from 9 senior secondary schools in the Omusati Educational Region participated in the study. All participants completed open –ended questionnaires, following which 19 out of 45 learners and 8 out of 16 learners were interviewed. In addition, observation notes were also used to collect data.

From the results obtained, challenges faced by learners when preparing science fair projects in the study area include: lack of resources, lack of proper guidance from teachers, poor parental support and understanding, lack of basic knowledge about the projects by teachers and learners, official language barrier/ poor communication, and limited time to do projects. It was also found that that the most difficult stage to the learners when preparing science fair projects was during data collection.

ix

The identified causes of these challenges includes lack of financial support from educational stakeholders, learners not aware of the importance of preparing science fair projects, lack of proper guidance from the facilitators and all the science teachers, and socio-economic status of both the learners and the schools

This study recommended provision of adequate resources needed during the science fair projects preparations, introducing different kinds of incentives at schools, circuits and regional level to motivate the learners, revising the school curriculum to include Project-Based-Learning(PBL) as a promotional subject and teachers need to be trained to teach those subjects.